


Silly Socks

by Orangepencils



Series: To Do Lists [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Multi, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:01:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5575834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orangepencils/pseuds/Orangepencils
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kathleen Parson has always given silly socks to her children. Jack was not an exception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silly Socks

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Lomitzz, again. 
> 
> Part 3 of To Do Lists

** Silly Socks **

****

When things started going badly between her and _him_ , she still made it a point to keep it together for the kids. They were kids, for heaven’s sake and they deserved better than a father who suddenly realized he didn't want a family and had decided to gamble it away.

 

When Kathleen realized that there were more debts to pay than she could ever imagine, she took on a second job, to try to keep her head above the water, but mostly to try to keep things normal for her two kids.

 

However, it was hard to explain to a seven and four year old why they weren't getting any presents for their birthdays so Kathleen had to be quick on her feet and improvise.

 

Her solution had been simple, in a sense.

 

She had always liked practical gifts. She didn't like what she called “dust collectors” and there really wasn't anything better than a good, reliable serving dish, or some nice hand towels for the bathroom.

 

But children didn't like practical gifts, she had to be clever.

 

It was soon after _he_ left them that her daughter’s birthday came around that she got creative.

 

It was at that same moment that a tradition was born.

 

Gifting silly socks to her children turned out to be an easy thing. They weren't particularly expensive, they were useful, and there were always many to choose from.

 

At first, Kent didn't really understand why his own mother was gifting him with what he called “auntie presents”. Parents were the ones who were supposed to get you the cool present, or at least, that's how it was for his friends at school.

 

It took him a while to come around to the idea, but when he realized that his father wasn't coming back anytime soon and when he understood that his mother was working more than she should have to, he started to appreciate the socks.

 

Plus, his socks were wicked cool.

 

Over the years, Kathleen gifted her kids many silly socks. She always found a new pair, and sometimes, there were three to a package, or there was some discount, so it was a win-win situation.

 

She sometimes found socks of a relevant interest her kids had and so there had been a fair share of Harry Potter and a never-ending amount of Islanders themed socks. Sometimes, she had even been able to get away with themed colours only.

 

When Jack Zimmermann entered Kent's life and Kathleen found out he was her son’s best friend, and that the Zimmermanns were being very nice with her baby, she decided to do the only thing she could do, with her financial means, and got a pair of silly socks for Jack.

 

(It had been easy, really. She had found a pair with an ocean liner looking pattern and the colours went with the team’s colours, so it was only appropriate.)

 

Kent had been embarrassed and Jack had sent a nice thank you card, so she figured it was appreciated, and it was the least she could do.

 

Plus, socks were always useful.

 

She kept it up throughout Kent’s years in Rimouski. Sometimes, the boys would get the same pair and other times they would be different, based on something Kent would tell her in a text message or email. (She still remembered the time Kent came back home with a pair she had gifted Jack. Kathleen had seen right through his excuse of having run out of laundry. But, she didn’t say anything.)

 

Inevitably, Kathleen eventually found socks with Stanley Cup patterns on them. She was old school at this by now and she knew the best stores to get her socks. She didn't even hesitate to get two pairs and with the big draft coming up, she figured her two boys would get a kick out of them and that she could give them at Christmas, or maybe at the start of their respective seasons.

 

There was never a doubt to Kathleen that whichever teams they would play for would make it to the Stanley cup. (She had found pairs with medals on them during their stints at the World Juniors and she had those express mailed.) (She was still mad she hadn't been able to go. Her Kenny. Representing the country. It still gets to her. And one day, she knows it, Kathleen knows it, it'll be the Olympics. And this time, it’ll be a gold medal he’ll bring back.)

 

When she finally heard the news about Jack, she kept the socks in a drawer. (She cursed her busy schedule and couldn't believe Kenny hadn't told her beforehand, but that's another story.)

 

For a long moment, she didn't know what to do. Jack had become like a son to her and she felt very protective of him. Kenny had told her about the anxiety, but this - this was terrible.

 

It took a while.

 

It took a long while, what with Alicia needing help, Kenny being off in Vegas, her daughter being in school, and Jack ignoring Kenny.

 

It bothered her, at first. She allowed herself to be mad for a full day, before she pushed her feelings aside and looked at it from a different perspective. She didn't know all the details, but she was a mother and she had dealt with enough bullshit in her life to understand the truth better than most gave her credit for.

 

Therefore, she knew Kenny was hurt, Jack was hurting, and both had messed up along the way and needed to apologize to one another. She figured the break would do them good and that Jack had bigger demons to conquer, before he could be a good friend to Kenny again. Or else, they'd just hurt each other more.

 

Kathleen wasn't stupid. She understood people.

 

It was why she kept a close eye on Alicia, made sure Kenny was doing alright, and didn't give up on Jack.

 

It was also why she still bought silly socks for him.

 

Of course, she didn't send them to him right away like she used to. Jack needed space from anything Parson for a while, but when Alicia told her he was coaching, she found him some nice socks with whistles and clipboards on them and she sent him a pair through Alicia. She would know whether he was ready for them.

 

Kathleen wasn't sure who appreciated them more. The son or the mother.

 

If anything, she kept at it, since Alicia didn't tell her to stop.

 

Naturally, when Kenny made it to the Cup, it was the first thing she sent to him. By then, she could afford nice gifts for her children, thanks to Kenny’s help, but it had become her thing. It had made her children appreciate the thought behind the presents and they even looked forward to the socks, wondering what crazy design she would find.

 

She still held on to Jack’s pair.

 

She knew things still weren't better between Kenny and Jack.

 

Sometimes, she wanted to be mad. At Jack. At Kenny. At the world for how cruel it could be. But she had learnt early on that being angry didn't solve anything. That and with two kids and enough debt to keep her working three jobs for a decade, she had no time for it.

 

So instead of being mad, she stayed close friends with the Zimmermanns’, spoke to Jack a few times per year, went to see Kenny as many times as possible, and bid her time.

 

She knew it would come.

 

Kathleen was a patient woman.

 

It took a few years, and there were moments when she wondered if she wasn’t being the foolish optimist, but when it did and Kenny and Jack were friends again, and the moment she found out the Falconers made it to the Cup finals, she had the socks express mailed to Jack.

 

She would have liked to wait until after the team won, like she did for Kenny, and not jinx it, but she knew Jack could use something extra to keep him going.

 

And when he won and he lifted the cup over his head, she cried just as much as when Kenny won his first cup, but it was nothing compared to the tears she had when Jack sent her a text, with a picture of the socks, and a message saying he had worn them to every game.

 

**FIN**

 

**Started typing: December 29 th 2015, 1:49am**

**Finished typing: December 29 th 2015, 2:41am**

**Author's Note:**

> I'm randomoranges on Tumblr, come say hi!


End file.
